Forestry

Forests are critical for sustainable development providing a wealth of goods and services that are essential for a greener economy. Forest certification is crucial in providing evidence of sustainable forest management.

PEFC expands forest certification globally through its unique bottom-up approach to certification and is the certification system of choice for family and community-owned forests. The UK Woodland Assurance Standard (UKWAS) is the national forest certification standard for the UK.

Chain of Custody & Logo Use

Chain of Custody is the process of handling information on the origin of forest-based products.

This allows organisations to make accurate and verifiable claims on the content of sustainably certified material and proves that each step of the supply chain from the forest to the end user has been monitored closely through independent auditing.

The PEFC logo and label on a product communicates to customers that the wood or fibre has been responsibly sourced.

News & Media

Keep up to date with the latest activity of PEFC via our regular news updates and newsletters. You can also access a huge range of publications and case studies dedicated to showing how PEFC–certified products can add value to you and your organisation.

You can also find out where to come and meet PEFC in person at various trade shows and events across the UK and internationally.

PEFC GLOBAL STATISTICS

Consumers

Many products now carry endorsements, labels and logos. From catalogues, magazines and food packaging to DIY products, furniture, books, paper and envelopes. The PEFC ‘green trees’ logo is your assurance that your products have come from sustainable sources and originate from a responsibly-managed forest.

More than 80% of consumers globally want companies sourcing certified material from sustainable managed forests to use certification labels, according to the 2014 PEFC Global Consumer Survey. The survey showed that certification labels, such as the PEFC label, are the most trusted means of giving confidence to consumers that wood-based products are sustainably sourced.

Consumers globally believe that it is important to make ethical choices, with 60% of all those surveyed agreeing that their shopping choice for a labelled product can make a positive difference to the world’s forest. Only a small minority, 10%, felt that their choice for a sustainably sourced product would not make a difference.

Moreover, nearly 30% of all consumers responded that they actively look for forest certification labels.

The research shows that over half of all consumers (54%) consider certification labels as the most reassuring proof that environmental and sustainable development considerations have been taken into account. Other means of proof include country of origin (30%), brand (24%) and recommendations by family/friends and media (17% and 16% respectively).

The overwhelming majority of consumers globally - more than 80% - want companies to use labels on products to communicate their responsible sourcing practices to them. Only 4% disagreed that companies should use labels.

The first PEFC Global Consumer Survey was undertaken by German-based GfK on behalf of PEFC International with a sample of a total of 13,000 people in 13 countries, 1,000 men and women aged 16+ years per country, in Australia, Austria, Brazil, China, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Sweden, UK and USA. Full details on the survey can be found here.

According to an ASDA 2014 study of over 20,000 customers, 91% believe wood fibre should be sustainably sourced with 90% stating this is key for packaging. The ASDA study also showed that 59% believe products sourced from sustainably managed forests should carry an independent label - the PEFC label is exclusively available on PEFC-certified products enabling consumers to clearly recognise and distinguish these products.

Today about 10% of the world’s forests are certified - two thirds to PEFC-endorsed standards. Look for the PEFC logo to ensure you only buy sustainable products and support businesses which invest in sustainability.